


To the Moons and Back

by SkyFireForever



Category: Original Work
Genre: Aliens, Discovery, Multi, Pluto - Freeform, Rebellion, space
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-25 02:25:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14368881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyFireForever/pseuds/SkyFireForever
Summary: Pluto was always given the short end of the stick, easily forgotten and easily ignored. Its people struggle for even a hint of recognition, but as Earth’s power grows and their rivalry with Pluto becomes more pronounced, hope for the small planet seems more and more unlikely. Enter Prince Zantas Pleton of Pluto, the prince of the forgotten planet, who wants nothing more than for his planet to be given a fair shot. When he finally gets the chance to attend a meeting of the Council of Rulers, he may finally have the opportunity to speak on behalf of his people. Only, getting people to listen was easier than he expected, it was making them understand that was the hard part.





	1. A Very Important Title

**Author's Note:**

> This was just an idea I had. I hope you enjoy!

Prince Zantas Pleton of Pluto had always hated his title. A title usually implied a sense of responsibility and duty, a job for one to do that earned respect from those around them. A title was supposed to ignite a feeling of elegance and grace, of charm. The idea around a title has always been that the holder of said title is important and someone to be looked up to. The title “Prince Zantas Pleton of Pluto” provoked no such feelings. No, the title “Prince Zantas Pleton of Pluto” was not met with respect or adoration, but rather snickers, heckling, or; at best, a quiet dismissal. Indeed, the title of any of Pluto’s ruling family was not recognized in the way that most titles were, the way that titles should be. 

Pluto’s ruling family was something of a joke among other planets across their solar system, some not even considering them to be valid and demanding their removal from the Council of Rulers. Zantas could never understand why there were those who considered Pluto to be unimportant or thought that they did not deserve to have a say in the shaping of their solar system’s history. Yes, it was true that Pluto was a rather small planet in comparison to the others and was located rather far away, but the people of Pluto had just as much right to play a role in deciding the outcome of major events as anyone else. That had been begrudgingly accepted by the rest of the Council for years, but now there was talk of excluding Pluto altogether, disbanding the ruling family and limiting their representation, as they did with the dwarf planets. 

The very idea of such a thing made Zantas’ blood run hot, boiling in his veins and threatening to burst. He despised the way his family was treated, the way his entire planet was treated; like they were worth less than a passing asteroid. Zantas was proud of his planet, proud of their heritage, of all they had struggled through and had overcome. Pluto had a rich and fascinating history of hardship and famine and fighting for their rights, but the other planets either had never bothered studying it or simply didn’t care. Zantas couldn’t decide which sounded more likely.

The boy stomped across the black dirt, arms crossed and a sour expression on his face. His parents would be leaving to attend the next meeting of the Council of Rulers in the next three days and it was possible that this would be their last time attending. Zantas couldn’t understand how his parents seemed so unconcerned about the situation, why they weren’t prepared to go down fighting. Could his parents really care so little about their people? 

He shoved the front door to the palace open, if it could even be called a palace. Pluto’s home for the ruling family was nothing like the elegant mansions Zantas had seen pictures of that housed the ruling families of the other planets. Pluto’s was much smaller in comparison, only two stories high and holding only the rooms that were necessary in nearly any house. The boy hated how small their home was, if the other planets had bigger, so should they. He felt his anger rise at the thought of it, slamming the door shut with all of his strength and marching up the stairs as loudly as possible, hoping to catch the attention of his parents. 

It turned out that he needn’t have bothered, as his mother was already standing in front of his room when he arrived, a tired expression on her withered face. “Zantas.” She said, her face stern, but her voice kind. 

“Mother.” Zantas spat the word at her as if it repulsed him, as if keeping it on his tongue any longer would kill him. “You have time to confer with your subjects now? I thought you had to go get ready to sell us to the Council.” 

The slow exhale that came from his mother’s nose oozed with her pent-up frustration with her son, but she did not release it. “For one, you are not my subject. You are my son and a member of the ruling family.” She began, voice strained by the effort of remaining calm. Zantas had always hated how calm she could be, how he almost always failed to force a reaction out of her. “Secondly, we are not selling our subjects to anyone. We are attending the meeting of the Council as we always do, as we are required to do as the heads of our planet.” She looked down at her son with a patient expression. “Nothing is set in stone, Zantas, you know this. We have no guarantee that the subject of Pluto's planethood will even be one of the topics of discussion.” 

“Of course we do!” He argued, balling his hands into fists. “It’s all anyone has been talking about! There’s no way they won’t-”

The queen held up her hand and Zantas immediately fell silent, knowing better than to continue speaking after that signal. “I am not claiming that the topic will not be brought up.” She said firmly. “Simply that it is not a certainty. In any case, I do not wish to argue the subject further. However, I do understand that our politics are of great interest to you and that you care about our people deeply.” 

Zantas rolled his eyes. “Of course I do. I’m the prince.” He said sharply, rejecting the thought that he; as a ruler, wouldn’t care about the politics or the people of his planet. “It’s my job to care; or at least, it will be.”

“Yes, and I’m glad to see you showing such an early interest. It is the sign of a truly passionate leader.” Zantas was about to interject to point out the very strong possibility that he would never even have the chance to rule when he was cut off. “Which is exactly why your father and I have come to a decision.” 

Zantas barely kept himself from laughing aloud, scoffing and rolling his eyes. He knew what his mother meant when she claimed that she and Zantas’ father had made a decision; it meant that she had made a decision and had told his father about it. King Fateris couldn’t make a decision if his life depended on it. “Yeah, sure.” He muttered under his breath.

The woman gave him a stern look before she continued. “We believe that it would be a good idea for you to attend this meeting with us.” 

Zantas opened his mouth, but instantly shut it as her words processed. He hadn’t been expecting that at all, his parents had never even entertained the idea of him going to one of the meetings before. “You’re serious?” He asked, gaping up at her. 

She nodded. “I would not have suggested it if I wasn’t.” She said calmly, but the hints of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “We believe that you are old enough to handle yourself and as long as you are on your best behavior, we believe that you deserve to at least witness the process of politics. Would you be willing to come?”

“Yes!” Zantas said immediately, nearly stumbling over the simple word. “Absolutely! Of course!” He nodded enthusiastically, foul mood completely gone. “I need to pack!” He moved to run past his mother to get into his room, but was stopped by a gentle hand on his shoulder. 

He looked up to see his mother smiling down at him. “We’re proud of you, son.” She said gently and he could see the pride shining behind her eyes. “Now, we have a lot of preparing to do, so we better get started.”


	2. High Tensions

Attending a meeting of the Council of Rulers was everything that Zantas could have ever wanted. It was finally his chance to witness decisions being made first-hand, to have a say in what became of his planet and his people. He could hardly believe that he was being given the opportunity after so many years of waiting. He wasn’t going to waste it, he was going to use this as a chance to change things, to improve them. He wasn’t about to sit back and allow his people to suffer without putting a voice to it. 

He spent the next few days packing and attending lessons on Pluto’s relationships with the other planets, as well as learning about other planets’ customs. His parents were determined to make sure that Zantas would make a good impression. There was so much more to the other planets than Zantas realized and they were all so different from his own. Each had their own customs and traditions that could vary wildly depending on location, as well as their own beliefs, values, and histories. It was difficult to keep up with it all; as a matter of fact, Zantas found that he only retained information that he found interesting or exciting, rather than what might be useful to remember. He could name the location of the deadliest battle in the Venus holy war as well as how many died in the chaos, but he couldn’t for the life of him remember how the war had started or what the differing sides were fighting for. It was all just too boring for him to be expected to remember any of it. 

He was resting against the table as his tutor droned on and on about the last known time Mercury made a public statement and how the planet’s isolation had affected the entire solar system. Zantas was doodling on his desk, drawing a rather accurate depiction of the teacher’s face. He was tugged out of his daydreams only by the snap of a ruler against the surface of his desk, causing him to jump. 

“Mr. Pleton, I beg of you to pay attention!” The old man snapped at him, clear frustration written across his face. “You parents have asked me to teach you everything that might be necessary for you to know for the Council meeting within three days. They led me to believe that you would be a willing student. Your mother claimed that you were excited by the prospect of ruling and that you were looking forward to it.”

“I am!” Zantas interjected immediately, offended by the implication that he wasn’t willing to rule. 

“These are things that a leader must know!” Mr. Melac gestured angrily towards the blackboard, at the information sprawled upon it. “If you wish to be a good leader, you would do well to pay attention.” 

“I was paying attention!” Zantas lied, not caring that it was such a blatant and obvious, nearly meaningless lie. He didn’t like being told that he was wrong. He knew that he couldn’t even attempt to carry on when he saw the look his teacher sent towards him, feeling his cheeks burn. “Okay, so maybe I had zoned out a little bit. What’s the harm in that?” 

“The harm is that you won’t be able to retain the information you need to be respectful to other races when you attending the meeting!” He took a deep breath in an attempt to keep himself under control. “We will take a very brief break.” He conceded eventually. “We must resume very shortly.” He warned as Zantas had already begun walking away. “This is important!”

“Yeah, got it.” Zantas offered the man a thumbs up before skipping out of the door and down one of the halls in the palace.  He brushed his grey hair behind his ears as he took the stair two at a time, desperate to be away from long, tedious lectures. He truly enjoyed what he was learning, he just didn’t enjoy the process of learning it. The stuffy classroom setting made it difficult to think and the constant cycle of listening and taking notes became mind-numbing for the pale boy. 

He stepped out of the palace and onto the black dirt of the outside, breathing in the fresh air and feeling finally free. He looked around and shoved his hands into the deep pockets of his jacket as he walked across the barren ground on his way to Lidel’s house. Lidel was his oldest friend, her parents had known his own for years and the two of them had practically grown up together. She was one of the few people who Zantas felt he could tell everything to. 

He stepped onto her porch and knocked three times against the sturdy material of her front door, tapping his foot against the ground as he waited. The door eventually swung open to reveal the tall and lean figure of Mrs. Yero, Lidel’s mother. She looked Zantas up and down as a kind smile stretched across her face and she held the door open wider to allow him through. 

“Zantas!” She greeted, ushering him into the house. “How lovely to see you.” She ducked into a nearby hallway to call for her daughter. “Lidel, Zan is here!” She called before turning to smile at the boy. “I heard that you’re attending the Council meeting this time.” She stated, an excited gleam in her eye. “I’m so proud of you. Hopefully you can have a say about the imports.” Zantas didn’t miss the heavy inflection in her voice or the pointed look she gave him. He couldn’t blame her for wanting him to put in a good word, her family relied on the import of materials to make their living. Pluto had very few natural resources of its own, so they had to import nearly everything from elsewhere, including food and water. The Yeros relied on the import of wood to maintain their livelihood of carpentry. The planet with the largest export of wood was Earth and with the tensions between them and Pluto growing, the shipments of wood had become smaller and smaller. Zantas knew that the Yeros were doing rather poorly as a result and he truly hoped that he could help them.

“I’ll see what I can do, Mrs. Yero.” He promised, determined not to allow his friend’s family to suffer any longer. He still couldn’t believe that Earth was willing to lessen their exports out of a matter of pride, letting Pluto’s citizens suffer as a result. 

“Thank you, dear boy.” Mrs. Yero seemed to have been somewhat comforted by Zantas’ response, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder and squeezing. Zantas nodded and looked up as he heard footsteps approach, seeing Lidel emerge from the hallway. 

“Hey.” She greeted, a bored expression on her face. Lidel was slightly shorter than Zantas and had bright blonde hair that reached down, just past her shoulders. Zantas had always envied her hair, wishing that he could have been lucky enough to have been born with a blond head of hair. Blonde was the rarest hair color across Pluto and Lidel was the only person Zantas knew with the color besides his mother. His hair was simply grey, the most common color on the surface of the small planet. Despite being a prince, Zantas didn’t look unique at all compared to the other citizens. His mother claimed that it was a good thing, reminded the people of his planet that he was one of them, but Zantas always wished that he had inherited the golden color from his mother. 

“Hey, Lidel.” Zantas raised his hand in greeting, smiling a bit at his friend. “I’ve got a little bit of a break from my history lesson, thankfully.” He shoved his bangs out of his eyes and grinned at the blonde, just glad to not be stuck at a desk any longer. 

“Oh, yeah. Lessons for your big trip, right?” Lidel asked with a prolonged sigh and a roll of her white eyes. Zantas had known her long enough to tell when something was wrong and he frowned deeply, studying her. 

“Are you alright?” He asked, knowing the answer, but still wanting to be polite. 

“I’m fine.” Lidel said shortly, not allowing any room for objection. “Come on, let’s go to my room.” She suggested, her tone still vaguely annoyed for a reason that Zantas didn’t know. He followed her, feeling nervous due to her behavior as he sat on her bed and scanned the room he’d seen a million times. 

“So,” He began awkwardly, hands placed in his lap as his friend refused to look at him. “How have you been?”

“Fine.” She responded in a short, dismissive voice, not seeming to enjoy speaking to him. This wasn’t like her, at least not in Zantas’ memory. She had never been one to speak much, but she had always been a listener, opening up conversations. Not like what she was doing now, shutting down any prospect of a lighthearted chat.

Zantas cleared his throat awkwardly and stared down at the floor searching for something to say. “Did I do something wrong?” He asked eventually, wanting to get this hostility out of the way. 

“Not yet.” Lidel answered simply, back to him and making him even more confused. 

“Not yet?” He repeated. “What does that mean?” He stood up, approaching the blonde in utter confusion. “What do you think I’m going to do?”

“Are you really that thick?” Lidel turned on him, her voice still calm, but her eyes clearly frustrated. “You are about to embark on the journey of a lifetime, you’re about to have a say in what happens to your people, people like me.” She jabbed herself in the chest as her perfect hair shifted out of place. “You don’t have to stand around, talking to your friends or to skip history lessons. This is important, Zantas, we are important.” She shook her head, looking away from him once again. “You’re just like your parents. You aren’t going to change anything, just sit there and pretend to be important while not doing any of the work.” 

“That’s not true!” Zantas insisted angrily, upset that his best friend of all people was doubting him. “I don’t know what you’re implying about my parents, but I’m not them!” He felt himself losing control, anger building within him and threatening to explode. 

“They don’t care about their people!” Zantas couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard Lidel yell and it was almost enough to scare the anger out of him. “They sit on their thrones and they smile, but do nothing to save the common people of Pluto! We are out here suffering because they don’t know how to run a planet! My family is going out of business and we aren’t the only ones! The entire planet is dying because of them!”

“That’s not their fault!” Zantas snapped, hands balling into fists as he reached a boiling point. “It’s the other planets who’ve stopped exporting to us!”

“Don’t you know why that is?” Lidel asked. “Don’t you know why the other planets look down on us? It isn’t just our size! They would hold us in higher esteem if your parents actually displayed some sign that we are worth supporting, but they don’t! They let the other planets treat us like dirt because they’re not the ones being hit the hardest!”

“That’s not true!” Zantas shook his head, anger blinding him to reason. “You don’t know anything about leading! Don’t pretend that you do!” He decided in that moment that Lidel wasn’t worth it anymore. “I don’t need friends who don’t have faith in me or my family!” He snapped, turning and storming out of the house, fury filling every inch of his body. His parents weren’t that terrible of rulers, they couldn’t be. Lidel was just wrong. She had to be wrong.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments with suggestions, feedback, predictions, advice, or anything else you can think of! It really helps me as a writer.


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